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Conflict Theory

Conflict Theory and its Effect on SocietyThere are three different theories that can be used to describe society as a whole. Firstly, functionalism states that society is composed of interlocking and dependent parts that work together to promote the stability of the whole. For example, judicial systems help maintain order, and schools teach children. Secondly, symbolic Interactionism states that society is composed of the day to day interactions of individuals and small groups. Basically, how people communicate and interact with each other depends on how they interpret factors such as language, actions, and statuses in their social life. Lastly, conflict theory describes the inequality of social groups and their constant competition for scarce resources. Although all of these theories are valid for describing society, the conflict theory, in my opinion, is the theory I agree with the most.

There was a very large amount of middle class families who recently became lower class because they lost everything they had in the recession. They lost jobs, their houses, cars, couldn’t pay the bills and had to stop purchasing their wants and start concentrating on their needs. Many times I would assume they would want to just give up but they can’t, especially if they had families. They need to do whatever they can to make money and provide for the family. All these lower class families and individuals had to start competing for scarce resources.

The higher class families eventually went to middle class due to all the shortages of money everywhere. Nobody was buying anything anymore besides food and struggling to pay bills. So everyone took a toll on the recession. So being on the lower end its pretty hard to get back up on your feet, and the middle class is just going nowhere. The middle is basically categorized mostly by a college education and they live day to day and are content with what they have. Being in a recession nobody can really ask for much.

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